Weitz, NAU fall to Colorado in championships

Shadle Park graduate Nathan Weitz finished in 76th place and helped the Northern Arizona men’s cross country team take second at the NCAA Division I championships Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind.

Weitz covered the 10,000-meter course in 31 minutes, 4.6 seconds. He was fifth on his team.

Colorado edged Northern Arizona for the men’s team title.

Boise State’s Jeff Howard (North Central) crossed in 31:48.5 and took 152nd.

Oregon’s Edward Cheserek became the first Ducks’ freshman to claim the individual title. He surged past defending champion Kennedy Kithuka of Texas Tech to win. He finished in 29:41.1.

The previous best freshman finisher at Oregon was three-time champion Steve Prefontaine, who finished in third place in 1969.

Providence won the women’s title. Arizona was a distant second.

Washington’s Katie Knight (North Central) took 128th place. She finished the 6,000-meter course in 21:29.4.